1 Digital Natives in a Modern World

Computers are now completely essential to learn in today's world. Computers are for research, communication, writing papers, or submitting assignments online. There is not a way to avoid technology in a classroom or learning environment. Therein lies the problem. If you do not have access to technology or for some reason your technology malfunctions, you cannot succeed in your courses. What do you do if you cannot afford a computer and do not have a car to go to a library or cyber cafe? What do you do if your WiFi cuts out? Your paper doesn't save? Your printer breaks? In any of these situations, your grade could slip because you cannot use your technology. It is so important to use technology in a classroom but until it is one hundred percent reliable it should not be the only source or option for communication, assignments, and research. In the chapter there were four challenges outlined: finances to provide educational technology, time to learn to use the technology and teach about it, school culture allowing the technology, and the shift from teacher to facilitator of learning. I agree that these four challenges are prevalent in our schools and need to be considered while planning to use technology in my classroom.

I am excited to implement technology in my classroom. For some children, school is the only place where they will have the opportunity to use technology. I hope to have a classroom set of computers that my students will use for research for projects or for added knowledge. I hope to have a Smart Board or some similar technology to use for lectures and instruction because they allow more interaction than a classic computer and projector provide. By the time I enter a classroom as an educator, I hope that iPads or other tablets will be used instead of text books because they are lighter than textbooks to carry and also have all information in one place. Many tablets can also access the Internet which will give my students technology accessible at home. This class will give me ideas on how to use the Internet for classroom tools to teach my future students. I am excited for the future to see what technology will be available to use in a classroom setting.

A digital native is someone who was born into a world where technology always existed and was accessible. I am considered a digital native because I do not remember a time without technology, granted the technology was not as modern as today's. I agree that this title is fitting for my generation and those coming after because our world has always been a digital one. Those coming before my generation immigrated into the digital world and had to learn as they went have technology is used. All of the teachers I have had have been digital immigrants. Many times a teacher would ask a student to help figure out how to use an application like PowerPoint or how to find things on the Internet. I know that as a future educator I will be asking for help from my students as well as technology evolves in the near future.